PREET BHARARA United States Attorney for th~'Southern District of New York By: SHARON COHEN LEVIN Chief

, Asset Forfeiture Unit Assistant united States Attorney One St. Andrew's Plaza New York, New York 10007 ,Tel. (212) 637-1060 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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in the 1940s there have been several additional expeditions, all of
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which have recovered Bataar fossils from the Gobi Desert.

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Bataar

fossils

have only been

recovered

from a

small area in the Gobi Desert known as the Nemegt Basin located in Mongolia. B.
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Mongolian Law of Mongolia of items of

Since as early as 1924 the Government the personal or non-state ownerShip

has. prohibited

cultural significance,
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such as the Defendant Property. Three, Section One of the First Mongolian states

Article

Constitution,

which was enacted in 1924, specifically

[b]ecause/since all lands and resources within their subsoil, forests, water and the natural resources within them, as well as the culture and characteristics of Mongolia which have been in possession of the people since ancient times do meet the customs of the present state and its people, all assets and resources mentioned above shall be under the possession of the people, thus making private property of them prohibited.
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According are

to

Mongolian as property

law, of

dinosaur the

fossils of

specifically
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categorized

Government

MO,ng91ia. Article One of the 1924 Mongolian Rules to Protect the Antiquities states that "all antique items and relics of the past

found wi thin the terri tory of Mongolia shall be owned by Mongolia." "Antiques and relics" are further defined in Article Two, Section Five of the 1924 Mongolian "[p]aleonthological animals preserved as well Rules to Protect the Antiquities as

items such as remnants of ancient plants and as archeological findings that ought to be

in museums."
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Article

13.1 of the 2001 Mongolian

Protection of

Cultural Heritage Law further provides that U[t]he territory and la~d bowels where historically, culturally and scientifically

sig~ificant objects exist shall be under state protection and any such findings shall be a state property." 13. Mongolian Law has further protected the Mongolian

Government's ownership interest in dinosaur fossils since as early as 1924 by criminalizing the illegal smuggling of such objects out of Mongolia. 14. the Antiquities Article Nine of the 1924 Mongolian Rules to Protect specifically states that "one-of-the-killd rare

{~~~s are prohibited 15. of Mongolia,

to be transported abroad."

Article 175.2 of the 2002 Criminal Code of the Law which specifies the criminal penalty imposed for

violations of the anti-smuggling laws, specifically provides that: in case historical or cultural valuable objects, museum exhibits, unique, rare and valuable findings of ancient animals and plants, archeological and paleontological findings and artifacts are smuggled through the national border, the assets shall be seized and the [persons] shall be imposed a fine or imprisoned for two to five years. 16. Mongolia became a signatory to the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization, Convention on

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Educational,

the Means of Prohibiting.and

Preventing the Illicit Import,

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Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property on May 23,
1991.

C.
17.

The Defendant Property the Defendant Property Florida. Florida

On or about March 27, 2010,

was imported from Great Britain to Gainesville,

Fossils was listed on the United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection Entry/Immediate Delivery

form (the "Customs Entry Form") as the ultimate consignee. Florida Fossils, at the time, was owned by Eric Prokopi ("Prokopi"). On Prokopi's current business website, Every thingis listed as a commercial

Earth. com, his occupation palaeontologist. 18.

The Customs Importation documents for the First, the

Defendant Property contain several misstatements.

country of origi~ for the Defendant Property was erroneously listed'on the Customs Entry Form as Great Britain rather than Mongolia. undervalued
,

Second, the Defendant Property was substantially in the Customs Importation documents. The

importation documents list the value of the Defendant Property as
$~~,6d6

contrary to the $950,000

- $1,500,00

value listed in the

Heritage Auctions May 20, 2012 Natural History Auction catalog and the actual auction sale price of $1,052,500. Third, the

Defendant Property was incorrectly described in the Customs Importation documents as "2 large rough (unprepared) fossil

District Judge Carlos R. Cortez prohibiting Heritage and its agents from auctioning, Defendant Property. selling, releasing or transferring the the entry of the state court

Notwithstanding

order, Heritage completed the auction and the Defendant Property was sold for $1,052,500 contingent upon the outcome of any court proceedings on behalf of the Government of Mongolia. The Defendant Property, which was listed as lot

22.

~urriberi-49315 ·the Heritage Auction catalog is described as in
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the skull 80% . . . Measuring 24 feet in length and standing 8 feet high, it is a stupendous, museum-quality specimen of one of the most emblematic dinosaurs ever to have stalked this Earth. 23. The Defendant Property was examined on June 5,

2012 at the request of the President Elbegdorj by several palaeontologists specializing in Bataars. Among those examining

the Defendant Property was Dr. Bolortsetseg Minjin, PhD, Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, New York Repr~sentative of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences ("Dr.

Minjin") i Dr. Philip J. Currie, Msc, PhD, FRSC, Professor and Canada Research Chair of Dinosaur Paleobiology at the University of Alberta, and President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Head ("Dr. Currie")
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and Dr. Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, PhD,

o~ Paleontological

Laboratory and Museum, Research Center of ("Dr.

Paleontology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia
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'l'sogtbaatar"). All examining paleonl:.ologistsconcluded that the Defendant Property is a Tyrannosaurus bataar Tarbosaurus baa tar). All the Palaeontologists (also known as agree that Bataars

are native to Mongolia and all concluded that the Defendant Property almost certainly came from the Nemegt Basin in Mongoli~. Attached as Exhibit B are reports from several of the examining paleontologists. 24. Specifically, Dr. Minjin concluded that the "was collected from Mongolia, probably in the

[the Defendant Property] was collected in Mongolia./I Moreover, Dr. Tsogtbaatar concluded that "[t]he general appearance of the

[Defendant Property] and the color of the bones indicate to us that this is the skull and skeleton of a Tarbosaurus bataar (also known as Tyrannosaurus bataar) from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia./I 25. Additionally, Dr. Tsogtbaatar has stated that the [between] the period 1995-2005

Defendant Property

"was unearthed

frcim the Western Gobi Desert in Mongolia./I III. 26. in paragraphs 27.
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CLAIMS FOR FORFEITURE

Incorporated herein are the allegations contained one through twenty-five of this Complaint. Title 18, United States Code, Section 542 states,

i,p",pertinent part Whoever enters or introduces, or attempts to enter or introduce, into the commerce of the United States any imported merchandise by means of any fraudulent or false invoice, declaration, affidavit, letter, paper, or by means of any false statement, written or verbal, or by means of any false or fraudulent practice or appliance, or makes any false statement in any declaration without reasonable cause to believe the truth of such statement, or procures the making of any such false statement as to any matter material thereto without reasonable cause to believe the truth of such statement, whether
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or not the United states shall or-may be deprived of any lawful duties . . . . 28. Title 18, United States Code, Section 545 states,

in pertinent part . Whoever fraudulently or knowingly imports or brings into the United States, any merchandise contrary to law, or receives, conceals, buys, sells, or in any manne~ facilitates the transportation, concealment, or sale of such merchandise after importation, knowing the same to have been imported or brought into the united states contrary to law - Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both 29. Title 18, United States Code, Section 545, further introduced into the United States in

provides that "[mlerchandise violation of this section States." 30.

. . . shall be forfeited to the United

Title 18, United States Code, Section 981 (a)(1)(C) "[a]ny property, real or personal which . any

Code, section 2314, which relates to interstate transportation of stolen property and section 2315, which relates to sale or receipt of stolen goods. 33. Section 2314 of Title 18 of the united States

Code, states in pertinent part Whoever transport, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more, knowing the same to have been stolen, converted or taken by fraud . shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both 34. Section 2315 of Title 18 of the United States

Code, states in pertinent part Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of any goods, wares, or merchandise. . which have crossed a State or United States boundary aftar baing atolen, unlawfully converted, or taken, knowing the same to have been stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken. . [s]hall be fined under this title or imprisoned not . more than ten years, or both. 35. Pursuant to Title 19, united States Code, Section

1595a(c) (1) (A) "[m]erchandise which is introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law shall be . . seized and forfeited [to the United States] if it - is stolen, imported or introduced."

smuggled, or clandestinely

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36.

The Defendant Property is subject to forfeiture

pursuant to Title 19, united States Code, 1595a(c) because there is probable cause to believe that the Defendant Property was stolen from Mongolia and introduced into the United States contrary to law, in that the Defendant Property was (1) introduced into the commerce of the United States by means of false statements and/or (2) transported in foreign commerce

knowing it was stolen or converted. 37. The Defendant Property is subject to forfeiture

pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 545 because there is probabl~ cause to believe that the Defendant property is merchandise which was introduced into the United States in violation of that section, in that the Defendant Property was (1) introduced into the United States by means of false statements in v16iation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 542 and/or (2) imported into the united States knowing it was stolen or converted. 38. The Defendant Property is subject to forfeiture

pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a) (1)(C)
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because there is probable cause to believe that the Defendant Property is property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from a violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 2114 and/or Section 2315.
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WHEREFORE, plaintiff United States of America prays that process issue to enforce the forfeiture of the Defendant Property and that all persons having an interest in the Defendant Property be cited to appear and show cause why the forfeiture should not be decreed, and that this Court decree forfeiture of the Defendant Property to the United States of America for disposition according to law, and that this Court gran~ plaintiff such further relief as this Court may deem just and proper, together with the costs and disbursements of this action. Dated: New York, New York June 18, 2012 PREET BHARARA united States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Attorney for the Plaintiff united States of America

VERIFICATION STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK Daniel Brazier, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a Special Agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, Department of for the within

Homeland Security, and as such has responsibility

action; that he has read the foregoing complaint and knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true to the best of his own knowledge, information and belief. The sources of deponent's information and the ground of his belief are conversations with other law enforcement offic~rs and others, official records and files of Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, Department of

Homeland 3ecurity, and the United States GoverfHIL811L, and information obtained directly by deponent during an investigation of ali'eged violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections

542, 545, 2314, and 2315 and Title 19, United States Code, Section 1595a.

To whom it concerns:
I am the New York representative of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and am the officially designated representative of President Elbegdorj Tsakhia of Mongolia in the matter of the Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton presently in the care of Heritage Auctions. . I received my undergraduate education and Master's degree in Mongolia, my doctorate from the City University of New York, and engaged in postdoctoral research at the Museum of the Rockies. My education and doctoral research was on fossils from Mongolia, and I have conducted extensive paleontological fieldwork in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The following report is based on my examination of the specimen, my training ill Paleontology. and my knowledge of Mongolian fossils. On June Sth, 2012, I inspected the .skeleton· of Tyrannosaurus bataar (better known in the scientific community as Tarbosaurus baatar) that is temporarily housed in the Cadogan Tate Fine Art Storage after it was auctioned by Heritage Auctions on May 20th, 2012.
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The skeleton clearly represents a member of the family Tyrannosauridae. Key advanced, ·tytannosaurid features that are present in the skeleton include the small, two-fingered arms and the large robust skull. The specimencan further be identified as Tarbosaurus baatar based on the generally narrow width of the skull and the nature of the contact of the nasal and maxilla bones of the skull. In these features it is distinctly different from Tyrannosaurus rex, a close relative of Tarbosaurus baatar. Whereas Tyrannosaurus rex is onIy known from North America, Tarbosaurus baatar is only known from Asia. Although fragmentary remains of large tyrannosaurids have been found in China and Kazakhstan, nearly complete skeletons of Tarbosaurus baatar, like the one under the 'care of Heritage Auctions, are only known from Mongolia. Nearly all of the Mongolian specimens have come from a fairly small area in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. called the Nemegt Basin. Furthermore.rthe fairly light color of the specimen and-Iron staining are consistent with skeletons collected from the Nemegt Basin. Most skeletons Tyrannosaurus rex from North America come from the Hell Creek and these skeletons are dark brown to black. quite unlike the Heritage Auctions specimen. Based on the above evidence; I conclude that this specimen was collected from Mongolia, probably ill the Nemegt Basin.

of

A., 50£uJ}A07 ~
Bolortsetseg l\I!kjin Ph.D. Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs
New York Representative of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences
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STATEMENT OF FOSSIL BONES
On June 5, 2012, the specimen auctioned on May 20th by Heritage Auctions was examined by three paleontologists, including myself, in the warehouse of Cadogan Tate Fine Art Storage in New York City. The general appearance of the animal and the color of the bones indicate to us that this is the skull and skeleton of a Tarbosaurus bataar (also known as Tyrannosaurus bataars from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. The bones are light colored (whitish to beige, rarely brownish because of an iron content of 2.2-8 percent), thus differing from most fossils of their North American relatives ·Which are dark, even black, due to secondary permineralization. The size and body proportions are . consistent with this identification. The following specific characters are identical as Tarbosaurus bataar: the number of maxillary and dentary alveoli, the ridge and socket arrangement of the maxillary-nasal articulation, the relatively smooth dorsal surface of the nasal, the non-inflated nature of bones like the lacrimal and ectopterygoid, the size and shape of the lacrimal pneumatopore, the lack of a pronounced lacrimal cornua, the presence of a low cornua on the postorbital, the forward extension of the sagittal crest onto the frontal, the nature of the contact between the lacrimal/prefrontal and the postorbital, the low but broad nuchal crest, the relatively large size of the first maxillary tooth (which has a J-shaped arrangement of the carinae at the base of the crown), ../ the relatively small front limb (in comparison with the length of the femur) Those characters are diagnostic of Tarbosaurus bataar and clearly shows that this is not any other tyrannosaurid species. Tarbosaurus bataar skeletons have only ever been recovered from the . .Nemegt basin and adjacent regions in Mongolia, which in my opinion indicates that this is a specimen that was poached from Mongolia. It was clear that lack of professional knowledge for excavation of the specimen some part of the skull and postcranium were destroyed by poachers. I suppose that the specimen was unearthed the period 1995-2005 from the Western Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Because it was not registered illegal diggers factum before mid of 1990s. But climax of poachers activities in Nemegtian dinosaur localities of Western Gobi desert was in 2000. ¥' ../ ¥' ../ ¥' ¥' ../ ¥' ¥' ¥' ../

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Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, PhD Head of Paleontological Laboratory and Museum, Research Center of Paleontology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia

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June 5 2012 New York, New York To His Excellency Elbegdorj Tsakhia, President of Mongolia On June 5, 2012, the specimen auctioned on May 20th by Heritage Auctions was examined by three palaeontologists in the warehouse of Cadogan Tate Fine Art Storage in New Yorle City. The general appearance of the animal and the color of the bones indicate to us that this is the skull and skeleton of a Tarbosaurus bataar (also known as Tyrannosaurus bataar) from the Nemegt Formation of·Mongolia. THe size and body proportions are consistent with this identification. Dr. Norell, did not participate in this investigation, however, he did examine the specimen during the auction preview. A suite of specific characters is diagnostic of Tarbosaurus bataar and clearly shows that this is not any other tyrannosaurid species. These include: -the number of maxillary and dentary tooth scokets -the ridge and socket arrangement of the maxillary-nasal articulation -the relatively smooth dorsal surface of the nasal -the non-inflated nature of bones like the lacrimal and ectopterygoid -the size and shape of the lacrimal pneumatopore -the lack of a pronounced lacrimal cornua -the presence of a low cornua on the postorbital -the forward extension of the sagittal crest onto the frontal -the nature of the contact between the lacrimal/prefrontal and the postorbital -the low but broad nuchal crest -the relatively large size of the first maxillary tooth (which has a f-shaped arrangement of the carinae at the base of the crown), and -the relatively small front limb (in comparison with the length of the femur). Tarbosaurus bataar skeletons have only ever been recovered from the Nernegt: basin and adjacent regions in Mongolia, which in our strong opinion indicates that specimen was collected in Mongolia. We feel that the specimen was largely restored and mounted outside of Mongolia, but even so the quality, color and fresh breaks on the bone indicate that th.e specimen was probably collected within the last ten years. The absence of claws, toes and most of the teeth suggest that these were collected by one or more separate groups, before the r~maining skeleton was exhumed.

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Philip J. Currie, MSc, PhD, FRSC Professor and Canada Research Chair of Dinosaur Paleobiology at the University of Alberta, President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Mark Norell, PhD Chairman and Curator, Division of Paleontology American Museum of Natural History New York, New York Collectively we have worked for over 40 seasons in the area where Tarbosaurus . skeletons have been collected in southern Mongolia. Both of us have also focused much of our scientific research on this dinosaur and its close relatives.